It’s coming up to the end of the year now and I thought it would be a good idea to quickly reflect on who out of the 3 big cats were most successful.

In addition, I want to have a look  into the 2011 line-up and identify who out of 3 giants has the best line-up of video game titles.

I think it would be hard to identify who stole the show this year considering Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all pretty much had a steady year in terms of software line-up.  However, in terms of exclusive games that really stood out for the Xbox 360 Alan Wake and Mass Effect 2 were big hitters.  Heavy Rain and God of War 3 turned heads for the PS3 and possibly Golden Eye and the most recent Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii.   Again games like Halo Reach, Fable III, Vanquish, Enslaved, Tatsunoko VS Capcom and Call of Duty Black Ops plus many more are sure not to be missed.

There is still a couple of months left with the run to xmas and games such as Gran Turismo 5, Epic Mickey and Def Jam Rapster are yet to make their mark.  All in all when these games do come out this year and the curtains of 2010 finally close I think Microsoft might have just nicked it by a hairs width from Nintendo.

Anyway moving on from this year’s line-up, 2011 looks like it’s going to be another great year for gaming.  There is a ‘But’ however because there’s going to be more in terms of sequels than new IPs.

Lets begin with Sony. In recent years Sony always seem to start the year strongly releasing exclusive titles at the beginning of the year and then slightly dropping off towards the end.  However in 2011 it seems Sony might just finally give Microsoft and Nintendo a run for their money in terms of AAA exclusive titles.

Games that were due out this holiday season have been pushed back slightly into quarter one 2011 and in that time we are due to see: Killzone 3, Little Big Planet 2, DC Universe Online, Final Fantasy XIII with games such Infamous 2, Twisted Metal, Resistance 3, Socom 4, The Last Guardian and Motorstorm Apocalypse to follow throughout the year.  This really is a strong line-up of AAA titles that really caters for that hardcore audience and what’s promising to see is that they aren’t all shoved in for release within the xmas window.

Now looking at Microsoft’s exclusivity line-up I found it genuinely hard to identify any AAA titles besides Gears of War 3.  Taking Kinect out the picture there isn’t much in terms of exclusivity. Microsoft would need to nail the marketing for the multi-platform AAA titles to really get a better return on their investment. Games such as Bioshock Infinite (if it comes out in 2011) Brink and Batman Arkham City need to be positioned perfectly if they ever want to out do the PS3 in terms of software sales. However lets not forget XCOM a game developed by 2k games exclusively for the Xbox 360 as well as some possible shock announcements at E3 that may do some damage to Sony.

Finally Nintendo. What’s different about Nintendo is that most of their games are exclusive to the Wii and don’t directly compete with Sony and Microsoft in terms HD hardcore games. Again I think it would be safe to assume that 9 times out of 10 these really aren’t the best of games and are mainly there to make a quick buck. On the other hand Nintendo wont go down without a fight and try to reel back the hardcore audience with games like Kirby’s Epic Yarn (already out in North America) and Michael Jackson: The Experience which are sure to be some of Nintendo’s strongest games in 2011.

Overall if you’re talking about who has the most exclusive titles Nintendo will win this round hands down. However if you’re talking about who has the most AAA exclusive titles, Sony without a doubt will win this round. If you then talk about how good these AAA games will be then who knows, we’ll just have to wait and see!  I think with the recent release of Kinect, Microsoft will soon announce some great exclusives.  However,  Sony will be knocking on their door with the Playstation Move.

For what its worth it doesn’t really matter who’s victorious because ultimately us gamers are going to be benefiting.  Bring on 2011!

Written by: David Salman